The Best PCs for StarCraft II

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Our selections of the best systems to run SCII at any graphics level.

By Scott Lowe

After months, nay years, of waiting StarCraft II has finally arrived. However, if you haven't updated your PC setup since the original game launched in 1998 you might have some trouble playing it. You could always just upgrade your PC's components, or with a little research, build a high-powered rig from scratch, but for those looking for a way to get up and running ASAP, there are a number of gaming PC manufacturers that offer pre-built systems at a wide range of price points.

We've pulled a few selections from three major gaming PC companies -- iBuyPower, CyberPower, and Alienware -- and matched them to each of StarCraft II's tiers of graphics settings. Additionally, we've found the best Apple computers for each level, and provided a rundown of the specs of each.

Low Graphics and Textures

Click here for an example of SCII at Low settings.

At its least demanding level, StarCraft II can be run on a wide variety of machines, even computers not geared specifically for gaming. With that in mind, we recommend referencing the game's minimum requirements to find out if your new or existing PC or Mac can run StarCraft II:

Not sure if you're PC or Mac meets these requirements? You can find a detailed system profile in Windows 7 and Mac OS X by looking under Computer > System Properties and Apple > About this Mac respectively. If you're also unsure about how your graphics card shapes up, Blizzard recommends checking out TomsHardware.com's Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart.

Medium Graphics and Textures

Click here for an example of SCII at Medium settings.

To achieve a reasonable level of graphical detail at high resolutions of 1680x1050 or more, you can actually find a number of suitable gaming systems for well below $600, and Macs at $1,200 or less.